Biden to unveil ‘further consequences’ over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine

(The Hill) – President Biden will unveil additional sanctions on Thursday in coordination with European allies in response to Russian attacks on Ukraine.

“President Biden will deliver remarks announcing the further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” a White House official said in a statement to reporters late Wednesday.

Biden will deliver remarks on the situation in Ukraine and detail the sanctions following a morning meeting with Group of Seven (G-7) allies.

The specific nature of the new tranche of sanctions was not immediately clear, but the White House has indicated that future penalties could target larger banks, including Russia’s VTB Bank, as well as other Russian oligarchs. The Biden administration has also threatened to impose export controls that would prevent Moscow from acquiring key U.S. technologies.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday would also not rule out the potential of sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin directly.

The administration has already sanctioned two Russian financial institutions, an initial list of Russian elites and the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to carry gas from Russia to eastern Europe.

Putin announced Wednesday night that he was launching a military operation in eastern Ukraine in what was widely interpreted as a declaration of war on Ukraine. Reporters and witnesses on the ground reported a short time later the sounds of shelling in multiple cities, including the capital of Kyiv.

Biden condemned the “unprovoked and unjustified attack” by Russian forces in a statement on Wednesday night.

“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable,” Biden said.